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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSDeath in the Jungle tells the true story of Jim Jones, a strange and manipulative boy from Lynn, Indiana, who grows up to become the leader of Peoples Temple, a religious movement that promises racial equality, socialism, and a life free from the injustices Jones sees in the outside world. Fleming traces Jones from his lonely, unsupervised childhood through his early years as a small-town preacher staging fake healings, and follows him as he builds a devoted congregation first in Indiana, then in California, drawing in people like Hyacinth Thrash, a Black woman searching for a church that treats her as an equal, and Carolyn Layton, a young activist who becomes one of Jones's closest aides. As his following grows, so does his control over their lives, control that eventually leads hundreds of his followers to a remote jungle settlement in Guyana called Jonestown. The book tells how Jim Jones built Peoples Temple and led it to the deaths of 918 people there in 1978, drawing on interviews, memos, and Jones's own recorded words to show how an ordinary, troubled kid became a man capable of commanding that kind of devotion.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book do two sisters in white gloves get seated beside a white couple at church?
✓ Answer
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
Hyacinth and Zip arrived for their first service in flowered hats, best dresses, and white cotton gloves, and the couple beside them smiled a welcome. Hyacinth, who had grown up in the Jim Crow South, said being looked in the eye by a white man was the biggest miracle of that morning.
- First half
In what book do women in disguise talk their way inside homes to check medicine cabinets?
✓ Answer
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
The small group of women Jones called the staff posed as confused seniors, faint expectant mothers, and makeup saleswomen to get through people's doors. A trip to the bathroom meant prescriptions and doctors' names, and everything they learned was typed on index cards and locked away for Jones to use in his revelations.
- First half
In what book do eight young people load three cars at night and flee their church?
✓ Answer
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
On an October night in 1973, Jim Cobb, Wayne Pietila, Mickey Touchette, and five others packed food, clothes, and books and drove off, leaving behind a letter asking how Jones could preach racial equality without practicing it. They lost their nerve at the Canadian border and turned toward Montana instead, and the group became known as the Gang of Eight.
- Second half
In what book does a leader tell members that the wine they just drank was poisoned?
✓ Answer
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
Jim Jones poured red wine at a Planning Commission meeting in September 1975, then announced it held a slow acting poison and watched who panicked. After forty five minutes he admitted it was a loyalty test, and he scolded Patty Cartmell for running for the door.
- Second half
In what book do two bored students invent a game called Advanced Vocabulary that infuriates their teacher?
✓ Answer
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
Tommy Bogue and Brian Davis took a dictionary and learned the biggest words in it, then used them until teacher Tom Grubbs lost his temper and accused them of faking. They defined the words correctly in front of the class, so Grubbs expelled them, and their heads were shaved.
- Near the end
In what book is a meal of barbecued pork, biscuits, and collard greens served purely for show?
✓ Answer
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming
The special dinner was staged to convince the congressman's party that the settlement ate well, and residents knew exactly what it was. Even so, a full stomach and an evening of music and dancing instead of a meeting felt like pure joy.
